Katie Leicester, Author at North West End UK

16May

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

West Side Story – Eccleston Theatre

Pendleton School of Theatre continues with its season of shows with their latest production of West Side Story. Pendleton’s Musical Theatre students have a reputation for excellence and considering their age and experiences in musical theatre they never disappoint, by consistently delivering outstanding productions. Tonight’s West Side Story has raised the bar even higher yet again with a sterling cast of excellent performers! I was lucky enough to have watched ‘Chorus Line’ last year and was pleased to see some familiar faces back on the stage. Ian Bennett Director of the 2023 production returned to his role to deliver this magnificent display of West Side Story. West Side Story is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by the late Stephen S...

8May

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

RENT – North West Theatre Arts Company

Sick! Festival presents RENT as a part of their shows and events for 2024, they’re noted to face up the complexities of mental health and physical health. They state that they present an outstanding international arts programme, whilst exploring themes through many art forms and commission powerful, innovative and engaging work by artists across Manchester. Sick! Festival has grown and evolved since 2013 and is guided by communities and lived experiences of others whilst tackling sensitive and emotive issues. Directed by Prab Singh and Choreographed by Katie Gough, Assistant Choreographer Tempany Windsor, Musical Director Beth Singh and Associate Musical Director Ross Johnson have produced the latest Sick! Festival’s rendition of ‘Rent’. Set in the East Village of New York City, ‘Ren...

24Apr

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Addams Family – Daneside Theatre

Trinity Amateur Operatic Society (TAOS) presents The Addams Family at the stunning Daneside Theatre in Congleton from the 23rd – 27th of April 2024, directed by Paul Downham, assisted by Izzy Rowe and based on characters created by Charles Addams and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The Addams Family has become enormously popular over the years for many theatre companies, this being my fourth viewing of the show in less than 6 months. I have witnessed some great performances of this show but none as outstanding as TAOS’s delivery of this classic spooky tale. I feel quite anxious about writing this review as I want to ensure I pay justice to this phenomenal cast and crew on their outstanding delivery of The Addams Family that they so rightl...

9Apr

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Mousetrap – The Lowry

The Mousetrap’s 70th Anniversary Tour has arrived at The Lowry Theatre in Salford. ‘The Mousetrap’ is the longest running play in the world which first opened in London’s West End in 1952 and ran continuously until March 2020. After closing its doors for a short break due to the Covid-19 pandemic it reopened in May 2021. Being the longest running play in the world it is hard to bring anything new and insightful to a review of this timeless classic, even after 70 years (and counting) the play performs to packed audiences and The Lowry was no exception as the auditorium was full of Agatha Christie enthusiasts. I must be honest that I had not seen ‘The Mousetrap’ before and didn’t know the story but its one of those plays that everyone seems to have heard of and knows it’s a murder myst...

Singin’ in The Rain – Grand Theatre, Blackpool

28Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Singin’ in The Rain – Grand Theatre, Blackpool

On World Theatre Day, Blackpool Operatic Players presented ‘Singin’ in The Rain’ at the beautiful Grand Theatre. Blackpool Operatic Players was established in 1953 to present day and have had an accolade of successes, the last production being Shrek in 2023. Neil Townsend the Artistic Director has created a visual and auditory delight in his latest production of ‘Singin’ in The Rain’ which is worthy of any main stage. Singin’ in The Rain is set in 1927, when silent films were all the rage, and at this time the main stars of the silent screen were Don Lockwood (Jack Price) and Lina Lamont (Stephanie Cartell). Unfortunately, their rivals Warner Bros were ahead of their time and had started to produce talking pictures and had a huge success with their production of ‘The Jazz Singer’. ...

One Man, Two Guvnors – The Eccleston Theatre

6Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

One Man, Two Guvnors – The Eccleston Theatre

Pendleton School of Theatre continues with its season of shows with their latest production of ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’, which is a hilarious slapstick play infused with a wonderful medley of stunning 1960’s songs. The play is based on ‘The Servant of Two Masters’ by Carlo Goldoni and has been adapted by Nicholas Hytner to move away from the original setting of Italy in the 18th Century to Brighton in 1963 - in collaboration with Richard Bean the award-winning playwright and composer/musician Grant Olding. Pendleton School of Theatre has stayed mainly true to the successful adaptation that ran in the West End and Broadway commencing in 2011, however they have altered and added to the wonderful script and characters. The bands ‘The Magic Five’ and ‘The Pendies’ were situated above th...

Pretty Woman – Palace Theatre Manchester

28Feb

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Pretty Woman – Palace Theatre Manchester

The Palace Theatre Manchester opened its doors to ‘Pretty Woman the Musical’ as a part of its UK tour, derived from the book by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton with Music and Lyrics from Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. The 1990 romantic comedy was a huge success on screen starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts and was directed by Garry Marshall which received several awards during its time, so I was intrigued to see how it would transfer onto a musical theatre stage. The storyline is based on a billionaire corporate raider businessman Edward Lewis (Ben Darcy) who finds himself in Hollywood whilst working on his latest deal, when lost in the city he meets Vivian Ward (Paige Fenlon) a street worker, the confident prostitute manages to win his attention with her cheeky charm and her knowl...

24Feb

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Smiler – Pyramid Arts Centre

Soup Productions presented ‘Smiler’ at Warrington’s Pyramid Arts Centre written by Michael Pirks and Directed by Michael Ridd. Soup Productions is a relatively small theatre company that established itself in 2017 and has had one previous successful production of ‘Little Red’ which was performed in 2023. It is extremely rare that actors are blessed with new writings and are given the opportunities to use new material as nowadays everything is rehashed or is a reimagined versions of something that already exists. New material is so unique for actors to be given the scope to be a new character that has no stereotype and has only the characteristics from the genius’s head that it came out of. The actor has only the writers’ ideas that they can base and build the character on. The actor ...

The Rocky Horror Show – Opera House, Manchester

24Jan

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Opera House, Manchester

Since the original show in 1973 the ‘Rocky Horror Show’ has gained generations of fans who have been seduced by its mix of horror-comedy and science-fiction script, with an excuse to dress up for the occasion. Over the half a century of the show, it has increased in its popularity with the not just the oldies but with a whole new generation of young followers. Despite the show being over 50 years old it has absolutely no signs of ageing as it continues to entice theatregoers through its doors with its bright, bold and extremely risqué script that bursts into life from the beginning through to the finale. The show is not for the faint hearted as you are guaranteed to be met with an auditorium of ladies or men in French maid outfits, an array of glittery top hats and dazzling tailcoats, s...

Christmas Cabaret – Pendleton School of Theatre

7Dec

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Christmas Cabaret – Pendleton School of Theatre

Director Ian Bennett has created a splendid Christmas Cabaret, specifically aimed at the theme of ‘family’. Christmas is a joyous time but can also be a struggle for many, so Bennett didn’t want the traditional Christmas tunes as he wanted the Cabaret to reflect different walks of life but specifically aimed around ‘family’ and the many guises that it takes. Each of the musicals featured tonight show family at the centre - with the dysfunctional family in ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, the adopted family in ‘Les Misérables’, the chosen family in ‘Rent’ and the magical one in ‘Frozen’! I have been privileged to witness many cohorts perform over the years at Pendleton Sixth Form College, with many of their pupils going onto exceptionally successful careers in theatre. The standard of this college’s ...